Thursday, July 23, 2009

Bokaro, July 22: Unable to cope with ragging, three students of Women’s Polytechnic College, Bokaro, fainted on the campus today, prompting their classmates to block the NH-23, connecting Ranchi with Dhanbad, in protest. They are now in hospitals.

The agitating students alleged that the three girls, Rashmi Kumari, Kavita Kumari and Rani Shree, (names changed) along with other first-year students, were being ragged by the seniors at the hostel for the past few days. The three could not bear the torture any more and became unconscious. But the school authorities did not take any action despite being informed, the students complained.

Speaking to The Telegraph, a student, Archana, said: “Everyday, the seniors came to their hostel rooms and asked us to do cat walks, strike obscene poses, dance cabaret and remove our clothes. They also ordered us to coin indecent slogans and physically assaulted us if we refused to do their bidding.”

“They told us that as this was our training ground, we were expected to learn everything, including giving them a massage ,” she added.

The girls further alleged that rather than scolding the seniors, the principal and the warden asked them to “brave” the situation. “Despite the strict stand of the Supreme Court on ragging, the principal and the warden have failed to weed out the malaise from the campus. And now to save his face, the principal has suddenly announced vacation and closed the hostel,” said another student, Bhavna.

Raising slogans against principal Ayodhya Prasad, warden Sushila Ekka and the college administration as a whole, the girls, squatting on NH-23, demanded expulsion of the students involved in ragging. The blockade continued for more than 1 hour.

The students agreed to withdraw the agitation only after a team of Balidih police assured them justice.

However, the principal denied that any ragging had taken place. But Tulsi Chowdhry, a teacher at the college, admitted that the seniors often resorted to ragging.Top